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I know you’re talking about youtube harp video’s. But my favorite youtube video at the moment has nothing to do with the harp. It’s soprano Karina Gauvin singing Lascia ch’io pianga by Handel. Just type in her name on youtube and then hit the top selection(the above mentioned title). I listen to it every night just before I turn in.
It looks like it’s about the same vintage as the video of Mildred Dilling that I put up on youtube 2 years ago. 1941. Do you know when this was made?
Paul- When you’re using epoxy for a boat application, I’m assuming that you are not clamping anything. So the epoxy has to have enough body to stay where you put it. I’m clamping the epoxy and carbon fiber between two pieces of maple laminate each 3/4 of an inch thick, and I’m using a bag press for the pressure. So I’m wondering if that need for fillers really applies to my work. As i said, I haven’t had any issue with this, i.e., there is no evidence that it has failed.
-most marine grade epoxies are used for impregnating fiberglass cloth for composite boat building, they can not be used alone for gluing, fillers must be added-
Paul- Why do fillers have to be added when using marine epoxy to glue wood? I use West System 105 epoxy to glue a layer of carbon fiber into my necks. So actually I’m not gluing wood to wood, but rather wood to carbon fiber to wood. It’s the only place in the instrument where I use epoxy. So my question again: why the necessity to add fillers, and what do they do? Thanks. I might add one thing. We started doing this at my factory maybe 15 years ago, and I’ve never heard of a single one of my necks having any problems.
-I have probably seen hundreds of harpists play in the position he describes-
Saul- Show me one picture- One-where the harpist plays with their elbows pointing at the floor, the upper arm pined to the torso, and the wrists bent out, as Josh demonstrates in his harp lesson. One.
Sylvia-Unfortunately, the manner of writing pedals is very personal and not at all standardized. We’ve had other discussions about this on this forum. But that’s life. I would suggest to any harpist that they try to adjust to reading whatever pedals are written in(provided of course that they are correct) without whiting them out just to have them written in the way they are used to seeing them. It will make rental parts much cleaner in the long run, and will reduce your work load by a lot. So sometime, when you get a part with the pedals already written in, grit your teeth and try to learn the part using whatever pedal indications are already there. You may find that you can learn to read other peoples markings without too much trouble. Along the same lines, try to get used to seeing left over right and visa versa, pedals between the staves and also below, etc. After all, the needed information is there. It’s just not where you are used to seeing it.
Josh- Every teacher teaches what works best for them. That’s only natural. I would expect you to explain what works for you in your video. But there is no need to disseminate inaccurate information, nor to criticize how other harpists play the instrument. In the end, that only reflects badly on you. The pose you take when talking about harpists who rest their right arm on the soundboard is idiotic and absolutely no one I have ever seen has ever held their arms in such a position. And as far as sound production goes, there is no basis whatsoever for saying that your technique is the only one that can produce a strong sound. So please, for your own credibility, stick to what you know.
After writing that last post, I did a little on line research on you. You mention Kathryn Ely as your teacher, so I went to her web site. And son of a gun, there’s a picture of her playing with her right hand resting on the soundboard!
Who is this guy? And why is it that every time a Salzedo harpist gives a demonstration of harp technique, they have to make a snide, demeaning, and totall untrue swipe at any and all non-Salzedo techniques? I just looked at his ‘lesson 1,’ and in talking about hand position he 1) ‘demonstrates’ how non-Salzedo harpists hold the right hand by locking his right elbow against his torso(which nobody does) and 2) by saying that “some harpists play with the right hand touching the soundboard, but you can get more power if it’s not resting on the soundboard. What malarky! I’d love to hear his explanation of why virtually every orchestra position filled since 1980 has gone to a non-Salzedo harpist!!! God this stuff gets on my nerves!
Thank you Tacye. That one has been bugging me for a long time but I didn’t say anything about it.
Technicians pet peeve? When a harpist says to me, my B(or whatever note) is buzzing. B what!!!??? I want to scream at them. Tell me ‘4th octave B natural,” or ‘3rd octave B sharp.’ Not B. It happens 100% of the time.
Galen- It’s not that the glue must be weaker than the wood. It’s that the glue must be reversable so that the violin can be taken apart if it ever needs repairs or adjustment. Hot hide glue is certainly stronger than any wood when it’s used properly. And the beauty of it is that it’s easy to loosen it, with heat.
Epoxy is a one way street. Once you’ve used it, your stuck forever with the results. Same is true of epoxy paint.
To the original post: Spruce is not a substitute for maple. In a harp, the maple is necessary for structural integrity and spruce is necessary for sound. They are two completely different functions.
